Want to make every run this season count?
Equipment maintenance. It’s the difference between a day on the mountain that will make you smile and one you never want to think about. The problem is most skiers completely ignore it.
In fact, it’s probably the number one thing that people aren’t doing. The results speak for themselves. According to the National Ski Areas Association, there were 49 catastrophic injuries during the entire 2023/2024 season. While these are the most serious injuries, the majority were avoidable had the equipment been in good working condition.
The good news is ski equipment maintenance is simple. In some cases, you can take care of things yourself between visits to a ski shop in Phoenix. And for other services, a certified technician can do everything from basic tune-ups to complete overhauls before you even hit the slopes. Either way, a little maintenance keeps you safer and skiing better.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- Why Equipment Maintenance Matters
- Essential Ski Maintenance Tasks
- Understanding Binding Safety
- Knowing When To Bring Your Equipment To A Shop
- Storing Equipment Correctly
Why Equipment Maintenance Matters
Here’s the thing most skiers don’t realize…
Good skis make skiing safer. Precise edges help control carved turns. Well-maintained bases release better to avoid getting stuck. Checked bindings open correctly when you take a tumble.
Think of it this way: Your skis are like your car. Both need regular maintenance to perform at their best. Neglect them and they’ll eventually underperform. And put you at risk.
This isn’t a theory. Ski-related sports medicine has been studying this for years. Approximately 600,000 skiing injuries occur annually in the U.S. And knee injuries alone account for 30-40% of all ski-related accidents. No one should ever get injured skiing. But problems like faulty bindings and worn equipment can certainly contribute to injury risks.
Equipment maintenance even extends the life of expensive equipment. Proper care will make a quality pair of skis last for many, many seasons. Skip the upkeep and they’ll need replacing much sooner.
Essential Ski Maintenance Tasks
Let’s review the specific maintenance tasks every skier should be completing.
Base Inspection And Repair
After every use, wipe the bases of your skis with a dry cloth to remove moisture and debris. This simple act will prevent rust and help ensure everything works correctly.
Inspect the bases for scratches and gouges that damage the base material. Lighter damage is an easy DIY repair with P-Tex repair kits. Major tears in the bases require professional attention. Try to examine bases after every few days of skiing. Nip small issues in the bud.
Edge Sharpening
Sharp edges make a big difference. They allow for more precise control of skis on the snow. And make your carved turns look and feel better. Dull edges feel slow and make controlling your skis much harder.
Most recreational skiers will need edges sharpened every 5-10 days of skiing. Aggressive skiers and those skiing in hard-packed conditions may need even more frequent attention. A diamond stone or file will work for touch-ups at home. But more extensive work should go to a certified technician with the right equipment.
Waxing Your Skis
Regular waxing both protects the base and provides better glide. The exact wax and formula depends on the snow conditions you encounter.
Many skiers wax at home. Other skiers prefer ski shop services where technicians apply the optimal wax for current conditions. Either approach is fine as long as waxing is consistent throughout the season.
Understanding Binding Safety
Now let’s get serious.
Bindings are the safety component between your boots and skis. They are a critically important piece of safety equipment. They need to open (or “release”) during a fall to prevent leg injuries. But also stay locked during regular turns. Too tight or too loose, and things get dangerous.
Here’s what many skiers are missing:
DIN settings are very important. DINs are a German-developed international standard that establishes how much force is required for a binding to release. Weight, height, age, boot sole length, and ability all impact the proper settings. Set incorrectly, bindings either release during normal turns. Or don’t release during serious falls that require it.
Never fiddle with DIN settings unless you understand the implications. Better yet, let a certified technician make the adjustment. They have special testing equipment that can simulate fall conditions and verify the bindings are working correctly.
Annual Binding Inspections
Every binding should receive an annual inspection from a professional technician before each ski season. They check for wear, test the release mechanisms, and verify settings match the skier’s current weight, height, age, and ability.
Something many skiers don’t realize:
Binding manufacturers maintain indemnification lists for each binding that are used by ski shops across the country. If a binding falls off the list (usually 10-15 years from manufacture date), shops can no longer service that equipment. It’s just too risky from a liability standpoint. Check with your local shops to verify what age they will service.
Store bindings free of dirt, salt, rust, and other corrosive contaminants. Let them dry if they get wet. Keep equipment in warm, dry places instead of prolonged exposure to direct sunlight or frigid temperatures.
Knowing When To Bring Your Equipment To A Shop
Not every maintenance task belongs in the home garage or shed.
Cleaning, light waxing, and visual checks can all work fine at home. But several circumstances clearly warrant ski shop services performed by trained technicians.
Take your equipment to a shop when:
- Base damage extends deep into the ski structure
- Edges have cracked or worn excessively
- Bindings need mounting, adjusting, or release verification
- Stone grinding is required to flatten the bases
- Delamination is present between the layers of a ski
Professional shops have specialized equipment like Wintersteiger machines that restore skis to a factory-level performance. They also have trained technicians with the experience to catch problems your amateur eyes would miss. Plus, they carry insurance that protects you and them in case anything goes wrong.
Think of it this way:
Basic home maintenance keeps equipment functioning correctly in between professional tune-ups. But an annual preseason inspection and service by certified technicians makes sure all equipment performs at its absolute best when you need it to. For both performance and safety.
Storing Equipment Correctly
End-of-season storage affects how equipment performs next year.
Apply a thick coat of storage wax to protect bases during the off months. Loosen binding tension slightly to release some pressure on the springs. And store everything in a temperature-controlled area away from prolonged direct sunlight.
For boots, disassemble the liner and shell completely. Allow them to dry completely before reassembling to prevent mold growth and maintain the custom fit developed over the season.
Wipe down all metal components one final time before storing. Any remaining moisture accelerates corrosion during storage.
Pulling It All Together
Equipment maintenance is simple. But it also has a tremendous impact on both performance and safety on the slopes.
Regular attention at home combined with professional services at the start of the season keep gear functioning at its best. Sharper edges grip. Smoothly waxed bases glide. Properly adjusted bindings release exactly when they should.
Here’s the bottom line:
Neglect equipment now and you pay the price later. Missed adjustments and inconsistent maintenance lead to poor performance and potential injury. Some tasks are easy to do at home. Others demand certified technicians for comprehensive ski shop services.
Either way, consistent care and attention to equipment makes every run better. And safer.
That’s the kind of investment every skier should make.
